New Gettysburg Movie on “History”

Gettysburg is a 2-hour History special that kicks off a week of programming commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Executive produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, this special strips away the romanticized veneer of the Civil War. It presents the pivotal battle of Gettysburg in a new light: as a visceral, terrifying and deeply personal experience, fought by men with everything on the line. Compelling CGI  and powerful action footage place viewers in the midst of the fighting, delivering both an emotional cinematic experience and an information packed look at the turning points, strategic decisions, technology and little known facts surrounding the greatest engagement ever fought on American soil.

The special begins in the high stakes summer of 1863, as the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia crosses into Pennsylvania.   Trailed by the Union’s Army of the Potomac, Lee¹s 75,000 strong army heads towards Harrisburg, converging instead near a quiet farm town, Gettysburg.  Known then only as a crossroads where ten roads running in all directions converge like a wagon wheel, this small town would become site of an epic battle between North and South.  For three days, each side fought there for their vision of what America should be.

In collaboration with highly esteemed Civil War historians, History combed through hundreds of individual accounts of the battle to find the unique voices of struggle, defeat and triumph that tell the larger story of a bitterly conflicted nation.

This program is set to air Monday, May 30th at 9 PM. For more info, see here.

OK, I’m a little concerned about those crossed muskets on the Hardee hat. But I’m willing to put up with little things like that if it’s a good flick. I’ve seen two too many movies  Stitch Nazis love that were just horrible cinematic experiences. The Scotts are Oscar winners. And I love the use of this song in the trailer – always thought it would fit an ACW soundtrack.

The Civil War in 3D

I received an email yesterday from author Patrick Brennan (he wrote a great book about the Battle of Secessionville, among other things) about a project he’s been working on.

3net, the joint venture 24/7 3D network from Sony, Discovery and IMAX have begun principal photography on the world’s first native 3D War Documentary, it was announced today by Tom Cosgrove, President & CEO of 3net.  THE CIVIL WAR 3D [a working title], the most ambitious 3D series ever produced for television, will transport viewers back in time, retelling the war’s most pivotal moments both on and off the battlefields from the unique perspective of both sides in the historic conflict.  The four-hour miniseries is scheduled to debut on the network in Fall 2011.

 Go here for more info. Just something else to look forward to.

Interesting “Time” Reenactor Photos

Here’s a link to an interesting series of photos – video too – of Civil War reenactors at threatened battlefield sites.

Civil War Programs on National Geographic Channel

I received an email from National Geographic with links to overviews and video previews of several Civil War programs they have scheduled. Check ‘em out.

Civil Warriors – 3 hours beginning at 8 PM on April 11.

• Families at War
• Civil War Medicine
• Life as a Raw Recruit
• Free At Last
• An Unsung Hero
• Passage to Freedom
• The Hard War
• The Darkest Days
• Behind Gettysburg Battlefield

And on April 12 at 9 PM, The Conspirator

• The Conspirator: The Plot to Kill Lincoln
• Guarding the Conspirators
• The Art of Mugshots

“The Conspirator” Trailer

It looks like Robert Redford’s The Conspirator will be making its debut on tax day, April 15, 2011.  Here’s the trailer (hat tip to Hop Tak):

Oh, That Ulysses!

Monday evening saw the airing of U. S. Grant: Warrior on American Experience.  I was sent a copy for review, but since this is an abridgement of an earlier two-part program I couldn’t make time for it.  Regardless, I was watching a football game.  If I get a chance to view it in the coming weeks, I’ll post thoughts here.

Check out this series of videos that will give you new insight into U. S. Grant.  Hat tip to Crossroads.

There’s a fourth one (actually the third in the series) that’s hilarious, but quite ummm…ribald.  If you’re resourceful, you’ll find it.

On the third side of the coin we have this post on Beyond the Crater by guest Bryce Suderow, sure to elicit a different emotion from Grant fans.

Dana Shoaf on the Confederate Soldier

Here’s Civil War Times editor Dana Shoaf on the Confederate Soldier:

See here.

Civil War Hollywood (and Burbank)

A couple of announcements from the entertainment world hit the wires this past week.

The long anticipated, talked about, delayed, postponed, suspended, whatever Abraham Lincoln project by producer Steven Spielberg was again in the news, this time with the announcement that Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis will play Abe.  I’m not really sure how this film will be an adaptation of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, because that book doesn’t read like a film.  At all.  I suspect that the purchase of the movie rights to the book, which was made prior to its publication, was more a PR move than anything else – an attempt to lend some gravitas to the effort.  But I think Day-Lewis would be aces: the guy just doesn’t do anything badly.  He’s the real deal.  And the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum reported on Facebook that the actor and Goodwin toured the joint in Springfield this past Friday.

Elsewhere, word has it that the executive producer of the hit series Lost (Carlton Cuse) is working on a series set in Virginia during the Civil War.  Not a lot of info on this yet, but it’s being described as an “event”.  Whatever that means.  Hopefully, it doesn’t mean that I’ll get really interested in it only to get turned off because I’m never sure if the episode that week will be a repeat, or even if the show will be on that week, or if I’ll have to wait until December for the season premier, or why the fat guy stays fat even after all the food in the Shenandoah Valley has been burned up by Sheridan.  Start the damn show in September, run about 30 new episodes in a row and then repeat them over the spring and summer, just like Gilligan’s Island.  And you can still get away with letting the fat guy stay fat.

Playmobil at Bull Run

Hat tip to Warfare in the Age of Steam.

Bull Run on Film

Oh, just for the hell of it.  If you like, we can discuss the accuracy of this clip in the comments section here.  It might be fun!  But let’s limit the discussion to the clip, please.  I don’t want to rehash bad acting, bad screenwriting, bad cinematography, or the whole general badness of this film.

By the way, Ride with the Devil is on AMC tonight.  I think it’s an under rated film, skillfully directed by Ang Lee with some fine, nuanced performances and beautifully filmed.  In my opinion, the writers skillfully and thoughtfully handled the characterization of a free black man who fought alongside his former master, though I’m sure it angered some folks and caused quite a few knees to jerk.  Here’s the raid on Lawrence (look for the Eldridge Hotel):